Spoiler warning... Get ready for Weathership's epic new album, "Splendid Beast", as this is a nine-track collection of tracks that'll be sure to get you hooked on their sound. The whole album is a concept that takes the listener on an exploration of life’s greatest duality, fear and love - with that in mind lets head right in and get stuck into the first trio of tracks.
The Teeside-based quintet did not hang about one bit with the first track on the album "Golden Age", as it's one incredibly atmospheric affair with over a minute of sonic sounds interwoven with guitar sounds that are kissed with reverb. Vocally it's very dark and showcases the band perfectly if you ask me.
The following two tracks "The Blue" and "Through The Fog" go into a different direction with the former sounding almost like a Wild Beasts song with the percussion and charming bassline seemingly seducing me in an instant. The latter of the two is a very alternative track with tones sounding almost like an Alt-J track with hints of early Radiohead, it's very expansive with a rich sound heard in the background with the ticking guitar tone giving me the chills.
The middle section of the album is filled with a very math-rock type song, "New Occupation" and the very festival-ready cut "Just A Ghost', before the release heads into the final half.
"Electrolung" is very much an electronically-infused track that's very much a step away from their alt-rock/indie-rock sound, but what that does is offer everyone involved a bit of a breather and even more importantly a side of the band that music labels will go crazy for. "Lost at Sea" for me is the best track on the album as it feels like what the band is all about, raw tones, honest vocals and a whole earful of sounds that'll be swirling around your head for hours on end.
The last two tracks are very much a sound that I love, with "The Swimmer" sounding almost like a blend of Foals and Biffy Clyro, with sonic sounds colliding with atmospheric vocal tones. "For The Dark Is Beautiful" is a perfect way to close the album on, as it captures all of their sounds and gives you one final hurrah before fading away with a glitchy vocal.
Key tracks would be "The Blue" for it's tender nature, "Lost at Sea" for it's honesty and "Golden Age" -with the intro track almost acting as the perfect gateway into Weathership's sound.
Out of 10: 8.5/10